Like many building sites on South Carolina's Hilton Head Island, this one is relatively small—just slightly more than half an acre—but that only meant Group 3 architects had to work harder to make their clients' new downsized home live as big as the one they were leaving. Architect Mike Ruegamer's plan deftly addresses two main concerns raised by the site: privacy and scale. From the street, all eyes focus on the home's gracious entry. Ruegamer used the central brick driveway to steer attention where he wanted it—the house's front courtyard and stately façade—and away from where he didn't want it (nearby houses and cars). The garages are tucked to the side to obscure them from the curb-side view of the house, with guest parking accommodated under a trellis adjacent to the garages.
Ruegamer also used the entry procession to camouflage the fact that the house sits about 6 feet above grade, as coastal codes require. The path leading from the drive steps up two risers at the entry gate, two more before reaching a small fountain plaza, and finally a few more steps up into the house. The view from the front door pulls the eye straight through the open central space, across the rear veranda and pool, and out to a view of the golf course adjacent to the property.
The rise reverses in the rear, with two steps down to the veranda, two more down to the pool deck, and then down to greens grade. The gradual level shifts in front and back downplay the elevation of the first floor and ground the house on its site. Designed for an empty-nester couple who want friends, family, and especially grandchildren to enjoy their island resort home, the house opens in the back to a full range of pleasant outdoor spaces. A 15-foot-deep veranda, connected to the main living area via French doors, provides shaded space for sitting and dining. It's conveniently located off the indoor kitchen and just steps from the fully equipped outdoor kitchen. Sitting
Limestone pavers—cool both literally and figuratively—floor the veranda and flow beyond it to become the pool deck. Savannah gray paving bricks signal level changes, give an edge to the hardscape, and provide textural relief to the smooth stone terrace.
One feature of the owners' previous home that they wanted to duplicate was an infinity-edge pool. This one seems to drop off into the formal gardens, but the water actually flows over the far edge of the pool into a smaller, shallower pool 3 feet below that's perfect for young grandkids to splash in. The formal gardens at the foot of the site are arranged in three parterres that reflect the stately style of the house and separate the property from the adjacent golf course. As the plantings grow they will also provide a measure of privacy from the steady stream of golfers playing the course.
Project Credits
Construction manager: Estate Builders, Bluffton, S.C.
Architect: Group 3, Hilton Head, S.C.
Landscape architect: East Coast Turf & Landscape, Hilton Head
Photographer: Brian Vanden Brink
Illustrator: Harry Whitver
